A Midsummer Night's Dream
This article is about Shakespeare's play. For other uses, see A Midsummer Night's Dream (disambiguation).
In A Midsummer Night's Dream, one of William Shakespeare's plays, Shakespeare stages the workings of love. Theseus and Hippolyta, about to marry, are figures from mythology. In the woods outside Theseus' Athens, two young men and two young women sort themselves out into couples—but not before they form first one love triangle, and then another.
Also in the woods, the king and queen of fairyland, Oberon and Titania, battle over custody of an orphan boy; Oberon uses magic to make Titania fall in love with a weaver named Bottom, whose head is temporarily transformed into a donkey by a hobgoblin or "puck," Robin Goodfellow. Finally, Bottom and his companions ineptly stage the tragedy of "Pyramus and Thisbe."
Shakespeare probably wrote A Midsummer Night's Dream in the mid-1590s. The play was published as a quarto in 1600. The main plot has no obvious sources, but sources for Pyramus and Thisbe include Ovid's Metamorphoses. Shakespeare may also have drawn on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Sir Thomas North's English translation of Plutarch's Lives.[1]
Productions at the Folger
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (2016)
- A Midsummer Night's Dream: In Concert (2014)
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (Folger Theatre, 2006)
- Helen Hayes Awards
- Wins: "Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play" for Kate Eastwood Norris
- Nominations: "Outstanding Costume Design, Resident Production" for Kate Turner-Walker, "Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Play" for Ralph Cosham, and "Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play" for Stephanie Burden
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shenandoah Shakespeare Express, 2001)
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shenandoah Shakespeare Express, 1997)
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shenandoah Shakespeare Express, 1993)
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (The Traveling Shakespeare Company, 1993)
Early editions
First Folio
- LUNA: First Folio: N1r - O3v
- Hamnet: STC 22273 Fo. 1 no. 68
Second Folio
- LUNA: Second Folio: N1r - O3v
- Hamnet: STC 22274 Fo. 2 no. 07
First Quarto
- LUNA: First Quarto
- Hamnet: STC 22302
Second Quarto
- LUNA: Second Quarto
- Hamnet: STC 22303 Copy 1
The title page of A Midsummer Night's Dream printed in the 1600 First Quarto. STC 22302.
The 1600 Second Quarto title page of A Midsummer Night's Dream. STC 22303.
The title page of A Midsummer Night's Dream printed in the 1623 First Folio. STC 22273 Fo. 1 no.68.
The 1632 Second Folio title page of A Midsummer Night's Dream. STC 22274 Fo.2 no.07.
Modern editions
A Midsummer Night's Dream can be read online with Folger Digital Texts and purchased from Simon and Schuster. The play can also be purchased in Three Comedies, a collection that also includes The Taming of the Shrew and Twelfth Night.
Hamnet link to Folger Edition: PR2753 .M6 2004 copy 2 v.25
In popular culture
Film
Watch the trailer for this 2001 teen comedy adaptation, starring Kirsten Dunst, Ben Foster, Sisqo, and featuring Martin Short.
Translations
The Folger owns over 60 stand-alone translations of A Midsummer Night's Dream in various languages (not including collected works). Cataloging of these works is ongoing as of early 2015, and many have full-level catalog records, but some works still have only partial records. Translations can be found Hamnet in by searching for "Translations"in the Genre/Form Term field, or by searching the Call Number (Left-Anchored) field for call numbers starting with PR2796 (see the list of Sh.Col. translations call numbers for specific language call numbers). Since not all translations are fully cataloged, some items may only turn up in one of these searches.
Performance materials
Other media
Audio
A Midsummer Night's Dream Audio Edition from Simon & Schuster available on CD and as an audio download.
| CAST | |
|---|---|
| Puck | Louis Butelli |
| Oberon | Cody Nickell |
| Titania | Rachael Holmes |
| Helena | Karen Peakes |
| Hermia | Katie deBuys |
| Demetrius | Tim Getman |
| Bottom | Ian Merrill Peakes |
| Lysander | Andrew Schwartz |
| Peter Quince | Tom Story |
Other parts were played by members of the cast.
Directed by Robert Richmond.
Original music composed by Anthony Cochrane.
In partnership with Simon & Schuster Audio.
Listen to Marin Alsop's "Guide to A Midsummer Night's Dream" on NPR's Weekend Edition-Saturday. (May 24, 2014)
Image Group
Explore the curated image group for A Midsummer Night's Dream in the Folger digital image collection.
Content Advisory: this image group contains representations of nudity.
Notes
- ↑ Adapted from the Folger Library Shakespeare edition, edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. © 1993 Folger Shakespeare Library.